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A good book, quite long, but gripping

I have just finished reading the Midnight Girls by Lulu Taylor. This was the 2nd book for the book club I have joined. I bought the book and wondered how I would get through the 650 pages in the 3 weeks. I normally read quite slowly, but read this quite quickly.

STORYLINEThe story follows 3 girls (Allegra, Imogen and Romily) in boarding school. They are close friends and an incident happens that will change their lives forever. They make a pact that none of them will tell the secret to anyone else. The storyline then follows them as they grow up, going to University and into their early adulthood. Allegra helps her Uncle running an exclusive club. Imogen is a lawyer in London, working hard and Romily is a very rich heiress kept in luxury in France. As they grown older they start to drift apart, but all have the secret that binds them. It kept my interest because it follows each of the girls in quite depth, so you move from storyline to storyline.

AUTHORThis was the first book of Lulu Taylor's books that I have read. I'm not sure if it was a book I would have picked up if I had not been part of the book club, but I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to going out and buying her other book. Her other book is Heiresses. So she is still a fairly new author, with only 2 books out, and another one to be published in 2011.

WRITING STYLEI was gripped by the book and it kept my interest, but there were lots of parts of a sexual nature. I don't normally read any books with any material like this, and didn't think that this was all necessary for the storyline. The characters were easy to get to know and felt real. There were parts where I laughed and parts where I cried. You could really sympathize with some of the characters and felt frustration towards others. It also showed a part of the upper class world that many people can only dream of. I think the book showed that no matter how much money you have it is your friends, family and partner that can really make you truly happy.

BEST BITSMy best of the book was the ending. It had a twist at the ending that I wasn't expecting and I enjoyed the storyline and suspense.

WORST BITSMy worst bits were the parts of a sexual nature.

I would recommend this book to others and I enjoyed reading it.

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A great summer read

Allegra, Imogen and Romily were all happy at boarding school together until a terrible accident occurs that binds them together with a secret forever. The girls are determined to keep what they know quiet, but at what personal cost is it going to be at? Fast forward several years, and the girl's are all living very different lives. Allegra helps her Uncle run a very exclusive club in London, with ideas to start her own clubs as well. Imogen is a trainee lawyer and enjoying the party scene in London, something she never thought she would do, and Romily is living the life of an heiress as best she knows - holidays, beautiful clothes and lots of fun. But when one of the three seems as if they may be in trouble, can they put their past secrets and lies behind them to save each other for the last time?

I read Lulu Taylor's debut novel Heiresses last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I was very pleased to get a copy of Midnight Girls from the publishers for review. I adore the purple cover, I have seen it on the shelves in a few supermarkets and it certainly stands out so it has that going for it, as well as sounding like a great story. I find Taylor's books to be similar to those of Tilly Bagshawe, Jo Rees and other "bonkbuster" writers so if you like their work, then you may well enjoy a read of Midnight Girls, it'd make a great beach read.

The book follows 3 main female characters, all very different but this is good because it means it's easy to identify them all without flicking back and forth to remind yourself of which is which. We first meet the girls when they are at school, they are young and naive, and when a terrible accident happens, they are bound by their secret. I think Taylor tackled this issue very well, and think it's a great start to the book, it certainly puts you right into the action. I found the book very easy to get into, and although it's long at over 600 pages, I didn't find the pace slacked at all either.

My favourite of the three characters was certainly Imogen. I felt she was the most believable of the three, and I could relate to her in a way, trying her best to succeed in a world that wasn't necessarily for her. I liked her as she went on throughout the book as well, from a young schoolgirl to a headstrong young woman, and I enjoyed seeing these characters as they grew up. I also liked Romily, she was a bit of decadence from the book, and always makes you jealous of her lifestyle! Despite her naivety, she's a likeable character and I especially liked the main plot around her. Allegra is my least favourite, I just wanted to give her a good slap to be honest but it's good that Taylor inspires it in her readers to dislike a character like that!

This is definitely escapist reading. It's set in a world most of us will never get to experience - that of vast money, titles and decadent lifestyles, but this makes it fun to read because you can transport yourself to another place when you're reading which I love. As I mentioned, it's very much in the bonkbuster line - there's quite a bit of sex in the book and while it's not graphic, Taylor doesn't hold back too much with her descriptions so do be aware of that if you don't like that sort of thing in books. I didn't feel like the sex was out of place, so it did fit in with the feel of the book. I enjoyed also how the book spanned the lives of these girls, it lets you get to know them and we see how these secrets and lies change them as the book moves on.

Overall, this is a very good read from Lulu Taylor, and it definitely makes me look forward to any more books that she'll be bringing out in the future. It's well written, the characters are very well developed and likeable, and there's always a lot going on in the book to keep your interest which is very important when it's over 600 pages long! The book really picks up pace in the latter half, and I was really hooked by then, I couldn't wait to see how it was all going to end up for Romily, Allegra and Imogen. I'd definitely recommend this, especially as a great beach read for the summer, it's well worth a go, I really enjoyed it!

ISBN: 978-0099524922. Published by Arrow books. RRP: £5.99.

Thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy to review for http://chicklitreviews.com